Tokyo stocks edge up with eyes on Trump inauguration

Tokyo - Tokyo stocks edged higher Friday morning, casting off early losses, as investors focus on US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration later in the day.

Takata shares were untraded in the early session as sell orders swamped buy orders following the stock's 17% plunge on Thursday.

The troubled airbag maker was hit by heavy selling after the Nikkei business daily reported that two rival suitors are set to propose bankruptcy restructuring plans for the company at the centre of the biggest-ever auto safety recall.

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 ticked up 19.59 points, to 19 091.84 by the lunch break, while the Topix index of all first-section issues rose 2.02 points, to 1 530.17.

Investors were trading cautiously ahead of Trump's inauguration speech later in the day which they hope will offer clues on his economic and trade policies.

"I am fairly optimistic," Makoto Sengoku, a market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Centre, told AFP.

"Of course, there have been comments from the Trump administration that are concerning. But the main scope of Trump's policies focus on growing the US economy.

I think this should help the global economy move in a positive direction.

Japan's latest earnings season gets underway next week with All Nippons Airways' parent company and banking giant Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group among the firms reporting.

On Friday, Toshiba shares rallied 2.93% to end the morning at ¥249.4 after plunging 16% on Thursday on reports the huge conglomerate may book losses of as much as ¥700bn ($6.1bn) linked to its US nuclear power unit.

Brewer Kirin rose 1.79% to ¥1 904.5 after saying it was in talks with Heineken over the possible sale of its Brazilian operations.

In forex markets, the dollar was trading at ¥114.64 on Friday against ¥114.84 in New York on Thursday afternoon.